Gun for my friend

A friend of mine is wanting a gun. She doesnt know a thing about guns and I'm not sure if she has ever even shot one. I told her she should come with me to the gun show and shot all my stuff and see what she likes, but does anyone have any suggestions on what might be good for her?

She need to shoot a few times before she can even consider getting a handgun. More people that don't have any experience hurt themselves or others doing thing they are not supposed to do. She needs to take a safety class. You local range should offer them for $25 or so. Then she need to take the test so she is able to buy when the time comes. If she really wants a gun NOW, she would be better off with a .410 or a 12 ga. There is less probability of her shooting herself in the foot. I think rifles are better to start someone on that is completely new to firearms. If this is not for her than go with a little .22 thru .32. A .32 is a respectfull round and can do damage if that is what she is going for. If she just wants a target gun, stick with a .22 or .25 to show her the ropes.

Small pistols are not for beginners. They are hard to shoot, even painful.
Both the Colt Mustang and any .25 pistol you could name are much too small for a beginner.

A beginner needs a full-size, full-weight pistol that feels good in her hand and allows her to easily reach all of its controls.
The full-size, full-weight pistol will "soak-up" much of the gun's recoil, making learning a much more pleasant experience.

I strongly suggest that she also needs shooting lessons from a professional who does not patronize or "talk down to" women.
Pistol shooting in general, and defensive shooting in particular, is not an easy thing to learn and master. Guidance is required, as is directed practice.

my wife has been shooting my mark111 and 22/45 both 22 cal. and she loves it .she has shot my p95 9mm, my lcp 380 and my 357 blackhawk once . she allways shoot the 22's but with still pick up the others from time to time . kinda easeing into them at a fairlly fast pace . im letting her go at her own pace while i make recommedations she ask me a few minutes ago if i would go get her a 32 we looked at a few weeks ago . its cheep gun , might be a good starter to get he worked up to something bigger. i kmow she dont like a jframe 38sp so it looks like she might end up with my lcp . she does good with it.

I think the BEST to start with is a .22lr semi auto. Ruger MkIII or Mk II, Browning Buckmark, or some other PROVEN pistol.

I happen to like the new GSG 22 - it looks and feels like a 1911, is accurate, and fun to shoot. Remember those words -- FUN TO SHOOT. Stay away from snub-nosed revolvers - I don't care if they are pink or not. Same with any of those hard to hold "cute" little pistols.

Small pistols are not for beginners. They are hard to shoot, even painful.
Both the Colt Mustang and any .25 pistol you could name are much too small for a beginner.

A beginner needs a full-size, full-weight pistol that feels good in her hand and allows her to easily reach all of its controls.
The full-size, full-weight pistol will "soak-up" much of the gun's recoil, making learning a much more pleasant experience.

I strongly suggest that she also needs shooting lessons from a professional who does not patronize or "talk down to" women.
Pistol shooting in general, and defensive shooting in particular, is not an easy thing to learn and master. Guidance is required, as is directed practice.

I have to agree with getting her out to the range to shoot first, get used to understanding trigger control and see what she feels more comfortable with. In the end it is really up to her as to what type of gun to buy. As has been said, a revolver is easy to load and unload and very simple to operate. Semi's tend to have slightly lower recoil depending on design. I'd suggest getting her into shooting easy with a 22 to learn the basics, then let her try shooting other guns to see what fits her. Not what someone thinks she should have.

Forget everyone and what they all say, Just go ut and get her a S&W .500 for her first time out on the range. you will know for sure in one round if she really wants a gun or not instead of waisting eveyones time including yours. JK

I agree. A S & W 640 is nice. Stainless and can handle a variety of loads.

A lot of women will "purse carry" and a enclosed hammer is best for that.

If she is recoil sensitive, then a S & W 43C carries 8 rounds of .22 magnum with almost no recoil. But don't think that the .22 magnums are cheap ammo. They cost about 25 to 30 cents each round. But the gun weighs 10 ounces and has an enclosed hammer and revolvers have a simplified manual of arms. The new .22 magnum rounds designed for short barrel pistols are supposed to have more energy than a .32 (but less than a .380). Eight rounds, no recoil--I like it for a beginner.

(Sorry 'bout that, Packard. I don't mean to be too snarky about it, but you're repeating exactly the same stuff that sonja—and others, including me—have already explained as being the wrong way for a beginner to start off. Unless you can provide solid evidence that a small pistol would be the correct learning tool, you probably would do better not pushing a snubbie Smith at her.)

Packard's other thought, the S&W 43C in .22 Magnum, is a much better choice for an untrained beginner's concealed carry, but it still handicaps the learning shooter with a short barrel and short sight radius.

One can't learn the fundamentals of good, effective, accurate pistol shooting with a small, lightweight, short-barrelled pistol. Period.
One can't become an adequate self-defensive shooter without first gaining some mastery over sight picture, trigger press, and a good, strong hold.
Therefore, starting a beginner off with a small, fairly lightweight, short-barrelled pistol is counter-productive in the extreme.

A lot of people say a 22 is the best gun to start a new person off with. But I don't. You can learn good shooting skills with a 22. But I've seen people start out and become proficient with a 22. Then they switch to a higher power gun and suddenly the gun makes a lot of noise and has significant recoil. Their shooting skills go right out the window and they basically have to learn to shoot all over again. Kind of like giving someone their first driving lesson in a go cart. Better a mid to full size 9mm. I'd go with any of the "point and shoot" striker fired autos, like a Glock or XD.

The two biggest concerns with a female shooter though is grip size and hand strength. Small women, with small hands and wrists can have trouble holding and shooting a full size. Like my wife. She can barely get her fingers all the way around a typical double stack gun and can barely reach the trigger. And if they don't have much hand and wrist strength, limp wresting can become a problem. That, and they can have trouble operating the slide on an auto with a stiff recoil spring.

Putting a small .38 in her hand will almost guarantee her to NOT enjoy shooting or going back to the range. I have a "small" S&W .38 bodyguard and my wife will never shoot it again. I agree with Steve as he always has very smart and sound advice and the same with Sonja. I started out my wife with the Walther P22 and she loves that gun, we also got her a Beretta U22 for a more full size feel. These were her very first handguns and she has become a very good shooter by starting out with those. We have now moved her up to .32acp and .380 and she is liking those too. Baby steps for new shooters won't hurt anything, but starting out with a revolver in my opinion is not the way.

...Well, a revolver would be OK, but just not a small one.
Beginners need as much help as possible, and a longish barrel and a little recoil-absorbing weight will do wonders for a newbie's self-confidence.

My wife, Jean, who is a little less than five feet tall, and who weighs 100 pounds fully dressed and sopping wet, started out with a full-size, full-weight Government Model 1911, in .45 ACP.
She had no trouble at all. Indeed she did very well from her very first shot.

All it took was some preparation, including about a week's-worth of dry-fire practice to establish a proper grip and a good trigger press.

I think rifles are better to start someone on that is completely new to firearms. If this is not for her than go with a little .22 thru .32. A .32 is a respectfull round and can do damage if that is what she is going for.